There are not many things cooler than a Volkswagen Beetle hot rod. This one comes from Serge S of Flickr, and he’s made instructions available too. Click the link above to see more.
Bug Rod
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Tag Archives: model team
Red Rod
Sorry about this post title, it sounds like something your Dad caught from the ’80s liaison mentioned earlier today. Anyway, this wonderfully nuts Model Team style hot rod comes from Flickr’s Nuno Taborda, and it’s as if he had the Elves in mind when he designed it. Enormous shiny engine? Check. Enormous shiny exhausts? Check. Enormous shiny rear wing? Check.
We must confess though that we like the resultant drag rod almost as much as the Elves do, especially as the bodywork can pivot at the rear to allow access to the faithfully detailed drag racing cockpit. There are more images to see at Nuno’s photostream – click here to make the jump and take a look.
Make Like A Volkswagen…
…and split. This deeply cool Volkswagen split-screen barn-door camper van complete with canvas extending high-top comes from TLCB regular Redfern. Chrome detailing is in abundance and you can see more at Red’s photostream by clicking here.
Groundhog
As detailed in yesterday’s post, Ferrari are back on top after a few years in middle of the F1 pack, but there was a time when they barely won anything. And not because they had a bad car either.
Ferrari (and everyone else’s) woe was due to the utter dominance of one car, the pioneering Lotus 79, the first car to make full use of ground effect aerodynamics.
The first Formula 1 car designed using computer design aids, Lotus took downforce to an entirely new level, with the 79 producing 30% more of it than even their own car from the previous year. The suction generated by the 79 at speed was so strong that early cars suffered chassis fatigue and had to be strengthened to allow them to cope with race distances.
The strengthening worked, and the cars went even faster in testing. Upon the 79’s debut at the 1978 Belgium Grand Prix Mario Andretti took pole by over a second, and won the race ahead of the next Lotus in second place by ten seconds, with Ferrari in third almost half a minute behind. In fact, so fast were the new Lotuses that Ferrari could only win if the 79s retired.
Lotus finished the season with 50% more points than the next nearest team, securing the 79’s position amongst Formula 1’s most dominant ever designs.
This spectacular homage to one of Formula 1’s greats is the work of previous bloggee and TLCB Master MOCer Luca Rusconi aka RoscoPC. Built eleven years ago, Luca has recently uploaded his model to Flickr, and despite its age Luca’s 79 is still one of the finest Lego F1 replicas you’ll see. Accurate decals, a working V8 engine, steering and suspension are all included, and there’s lots more to see at Luca’s Lotus 79 Flickr album by clicking here.
Scuderia Ferrari SF70H – Picture Special
After a few years in some decidedly un-Ferrari-esque positions, Scuderia Ferrari are now back at the sharp end of Formula 1. Whether or not you’re a fan of the prancing horse, it is most definitely a Good Thing that F1 finally has a challenger to Mercedes-AMG.
This is the car that has returned Ferrari to the top step of the podium, the beautiful SF70H. With the aero rules relaxed a bit this year F1’s designers finally have a bit more freedom to create some interesting shapes, in doing so adding variety both to the grid and to the race results. The door has barely shut behind Bernie Ecclestone on his way out and the sport is already more interesting.
This wonderful Lego replica of the 2017 Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 car comes from previous bloggee Noah_L, one half of the duo ‘LegoBuilders’, and he’s recreated the complicated aero-channelling shape beautifully in brick form. The car also features removable front and rear wings and engine cover, under which is an accurate V6-Hybrid power-plant.
There’s are lots more stunning images to see at the Ferrari SF70H album at Noah’s photostream – make the jump via the link in the text above – and you can see the model on MOCpages by clicking here.
Dear John*
This neat John Deere 7930 complete with duel-axle trailer comes from Flickr’s keko007. Realistic on the outside, the inside is packed with functionality, including full Power Functions remote control and several mechanical features too. There’s more of keko’s creation to see on Flickr – click the link above to take a look.
*We’ve expanded into Taylor Swift songs for titles. Sorry.
Komatsu 3000
This big yellow box is a Komatsu 3000, which sounds like a robot from the Terminator movie franchise. It is in fact a 19ft wide, 1260bhp bucket excavator, with a top speed of 1.5mph. One point five! This fully remote controlled Lego version of the Komatsu 3000 is even slower, and thus can cause no carnage in the office today, much to the disappointment of the Elf that discovered it. It is still worth a look though, as it’s one of the most impressive RC creations we’ve seen in some time. Ayumi is the builder behind it and there’s more to see on Brickshelf here.
Lykan Hypersport – Picture Special
This is the Lykan Hypersport, a car with a base price of $3.4million, a production run of just seven units, and diamonds embedded in the headlights. It is a spectacularly pointless machine, built for people who are only interested in having the most expensive of everything (the Abu Dhabi Police Department included, who have – unbelievably – ordered one), and yet… the world would be a duller place without it.
This jaw-dropping SBrick-controlled replica of the Middle East’s first (but almost certainly not last) hypercar is the work of previous bloggee dgustafsson1317, who may not have a talent for screen names but he sure does with Danish plastic. Featuring opening everything and exquisite detail, dgustafsson’s Lykan is one of the most impressive cars of the year so far, and you can see more of the build at the huge Flickr album via the link above.
Godzilla!
A huge reputation, a legend of the car scene for almost as long as there’s been one, and incredible attention to detail… Firas Abu-Jaber and the Nissan GT-R have much in common.
This, as you may have guessed, is Firas’ latest build; a faithfully recreated replica of Nissan’s 2017 Nismo GT-R. The current GT-R is an old-age pensioner by car design standards, but like that elderly ex-marine at the bus stop, or your Mom in the buffet queue, you wouldn’t mess with it. Launched a decade ago in 2007, Nissan’s replacement for the much-loved R34 Skyline GT-R took the well known all-wheel-drive turbocharged formula and thoroughly Spinal Tapped it.
A hand-built 3.8litre V6 engine fitted with twin parallel Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries turbochargers gave the GT-R just under 500bhp at launch, a figure which when combined with Nissan’s trick all-wheel-drive system allowed the GT-R to obliterate almost any other car off the line and in the corners. Hypercars included.
Since its launch the GT-R’s power has steadily increased, with standard models up to 545bhp by 2012 and this, the 2017 Nismo version, reaching almost 600bhp. That extra 50bhp doesn’t come cheap though, as the Nismo GT-R costs around 50% more than the standard model, making it surely one of the worst value-for-money special editions in automotive history.
We’ll stick with the standard car thanks Nissan, which is genuinely still something of a bargain, and we’ll leave the Nismo GT-R, its mad carbon-fibre aero, and its even madder sticker price, to Firas Abu-Jaber’s spectacular Model Team recreation.
Firas has made an extensive gallery of stunning images available, including several showing the interior inside the opening doors, and the realistic twin-turbo V6 engine under the opening hood. See more of the legend for yourself at Firas’ photostream, and you can read our interview with the builder as part of the Master MOCers series by clicking here.
Just a Jeep
This is a Jeep CJ5. It has no bluetooth, no parking assist, no duel zone air conditioning, no lane departure warning system, and no electronic terrain response system. But it’s a million times better than any of the SUVs and Crossovers that drive past the TLCB office in their hundreds, and we want one. Luckily TLCB regular Senator Chinchilla can give us our CJ fix, and there’s more to see of his Model Team version of the little Jeep at his photostream. Click the link above to make the jump for all the photos.
Ferrari-Lite
It’s hard to do justice here to just how amazing the second generation Toyota MR2 was when it was launched in 1989. Toyota, like most of the Japanese manufacturers at the time, were on a roll. Even so, the arrival of the ‘W20’ series MR2 was one of the most shocking the automotive community had seen in ages. Looking like a mid-engined Ferrari and – in turbocharged form – going like one too, the effect would be like Hyundai launching a 458 rival today. Of course most people at the time didn’t know it was only humble Toyota with a four-cylinder engine…
This brilliant Model Team recreation of the early ’90s Toyota MR2 is the work of serial bloggee Senator Chinchilla, and he’s absolutely nailed it. Featuring opening doors, a well-replicated interior, an opening engine lid and a realistic engine, Senator’s MR2 is packed with quality detailing. There’s more to see at his photostream via the link to Flickr above, and if you can find a good second generation MR2 for sale – buy it. Their values are only going to go one way…
Jap Rod
Japan’s product design may not have a reputation for originality, but the Japanese can take almost anything pioneered by another part of the world and make it better. See the Mazda MX-5 Miata, the Toyota Land Cruiser, the Nissan GT-R, and pretty much every electronic device ever invented.
We can probably add hot rods to that list now too, thanks to this gorgeous 1932 ‘Takehito Yamato’ Ford Deuce Coupe. This Lego recreation of the real-world car comes from Master MOCer and previous bloggee Andrea Lattanzio aka Norton74, and he’s replicated the original vehicle superbly in Lego form, even building a beautiful period-correct workshop in which to house it.
There’s more to see of the Takehito Yamato at Norton74’s photostream – click the link above to head over to somewhere inbetween America and Japan.
Duty Free
On every flight there’s always one. That lady or gentleman who – when booze is marginally cheaper courtesy of airport tax free shopping – decides to optimise this saving. “I’ll just get a few bottles to take home” they say. Sure they will. Those bottles will be empty before they’ve even boarded. Anyway, this post is for them – and to that one guy who tries to smoke in the airplane toilet – as these models are literally encouraging drinking/smoking and flying.
With most countries doing what Formula 1 wouldn’t (because F1 is all about the monies), and banning alcohol and cigarette sponsorship in sport, alcoholic beverage and cigarette companies are no longer seen on the side of Formula 1 cars.
But there are no rules in space…
This is Formula Zero Gravity, an invention by British Lego Group Brickish, and they’re single-handedly bringing morally-dubious sponsorship back to top level racing! Two of motorsport’s greatest liveries have made the return so far (with more to come), with Nick Barrett’s stupendous Martini Racing F0 racer above, and Jeremy Williams’ gorgeous John Player Special F0 racer below.
There’s more to see of Nick’s build at both his MOCpage and photostream, and you can view Jeremy’s courtesy of Flickr here. Enjoy your flight!
Big Blue
This enormous block of blue and white is a Peterbilt 352 110 Cabover, an unusual configuration for an American hauler, and it’s the newest build of previous bloggee Andre Pinto. Andre has appeared here at TLCB a few times with his cars and motorcycles, but this is his first truck, and it safe to say he’s nailed it. Featuring opening everything and a tilting cab which reveals a highly detailed engine and chassis, Andre’s Peterbilt is well worth a closer look – do just that via the link to Flickr above.
Forced Induction
This is a 1979 Renault RS10, and it was the first turbocharged car to ever win a Formula 1 race. It’s been faithfully recreated in Lego form by Master MOCer Luca Rusconi aka RoscoPC, whose recently re-uploaded creations have featured heavily here over the past few months. This is Luca’s first entirely new build, allowing him to take advantage of LEGO’s latest parts to brilliant effect.
Powered by a tiny 1.5 litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine the Renault RS10 produced over 500bhp… when it worked. Which to be honest it didn’t all that much, but when it did the RS10 was phenomenally fast. Renault’s single 1979 win with the new turbo engine forced every other front-running F1 team to hastily begin turbo engine development, and if it weren’t for F1’s constantly changing (and pointless) restrictions banning turbocharged engines by the late-’80s (when they were producing as much as 1,400bhp), we doubt any naturally-aspirated engine would have won an F1 championship again. Of course those same pointless restrictions now mandate the use of 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 engines, so the sport has come full circle…
Renault never won a Formula 1 Championship with the technology they pioneered though (although they did earn some excellent results), but the RS10 can be credited with completely changing the landscape of F1, ushering in the wonderful insanity of the ’80s turbo-era until forced induction was outlawed in 1989.
There’s more to see of this stunning recreation of one of Formula 1’s most game-changing cars at RoscoPC’s Renault RS10 Flickr album – click the link to make some boost.
